The US government has revoked the visas of at least 50 politicians and government officials in Mexico amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on drug cartels and their suspected political allies, according to two Mexican officials.
The move has sent quiet shock waves through Mexico’s political elite, who regularly travel to the US. It also marks a significant broadening of US anti-narcotics action, with the Trump administration targeting active politicians usually seen as too diplomatically sensitive.
A handful of these cases have been publicized, but the reporting shows that the visa cancellations are far more widespread than previously reported.
According to three former US ambassadors, previous administrations have revoked visas in this way – but not to the same degree, which they said was indicative of Donald Trump’s willingness to use the diplomatic tool to achieve policy goals.
“The Trump administration is finding new ways to exert more pressure on Mexico,” said Tony Wayne, US ambassador to Mexico from 2011 to 2015.
One of the sources, a senior Mexican politician, said more than 50 politicians from the ruling Morena party have had their visas revoked, as well as dozens of officials from other political parties. The sources requested anonymity to speak on a sensitive topic.
So far, only four have publicly confirmed they lost their visas, including the Baja California state governor, Marina del Pilar Ávila, who has categorically denied any links to organized crime.
The US does not need to provide explanations for revoking someone’s visa and the threshold for doing so is much lower than for imposing sanctions or a prosecution.
In response to a Reuters request for comment, a senior US state department official said: “Visas, including those held by foreign officials, may be revoked at any time” for “activities that run contrary to America’s national interest”.
“The Trump administration has had a good working relationship with the Sheinbaum government, and we look forward to continuing to advance our bilateral relationship in the interest of the America first foreign policy agenda,” the official added.
Mexico’s presidency and the Mexican foreign ministry did not reply to requests for comment.
The Trump administration has also been revoking visas elsewhere in Latin America against perceived political and ideological foes.
The state department said last month it would pull the visa of the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, after he spoke at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York and urged US soldiers to disobey Trump’s orders.
In Brazil, more than 20 top judges and officials have lost their visas, while in Costa Rica, at least 14 politicians and business leaders, including the former president and Nobel prize peace laureate Óscar Arias, have had theirs revoked. Arias, who had been critical of Trump on social media, said he was given no reason for the revocation.
In Mexico, the widespread visa revocations – especially of members of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party – threaten to complicate the country’s already uneasy relationship with the United States.
Amid high-stakes trade negotiations and security talks, Sheinbaum has opted to collaborate closely with the US to go after the cartels. Still, she has condemned repeated suggestions by Trump administration officials that the US could take unilateral military action in Mexico, which she has said would violate Mexico’s sovereignty.
A third source with knowledge of the visa process said the revocations are part of Trump’s security strategy, adding that the administration’s designation of some cartels as terrorist organizations means intelligence held by the Drug Enforcement Administration increasingly affects someone’s US visa status.
The state department does not publish figures on how often it revokes visas of foreign officials but John Feeley, ambassador to Panama from 2015 to 2018, said he did not recall any Panamanian politician having their visa canceled when he was ambassador.
He said the widespread revocations could backfire and strain US-Mexico cooperation on security. “It could spur blowback, where President Sheinbaum sees collaborating with the US as too high of a political cost.”
